China's January-February industrial revenue surge is firm, but pace speeds down from 2017

For the first two months of 2018 from December revenues at China's industrial companies picked up pace, although still lagging surge for the whole of the previous year, thus supporting hopes that the world's number two economy is braced for cooling as the Chinese government cracks down on debt risks.

Speeding down earnings surge, following a six-year maximum in 2017, could heavily affect investment and put extra pressure on China's stock markets that have taken a knock in recent trading sessions on ascending worries of a trade conflict with America.

Weaker revenues could also complicate China’s campaign to diminish huge debt generated by its state-owned companies, dominating its heavy industries.

Industrial revenues rallied 16.1% year-on-year hitting 968.9 billion Yuan for the first two months of 2018, as the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday.

Surge managed to pick up from December mostly because of quickened sales with everlasting cost-cutting efforts, offsetting weaker prices. That’s what He Ping of the statistics bureau revealed in a statement.

The Chinese authorities issued combined January as well as February figures with the aim of smoothing out distortions provoked by the week-long Lunar New Year that started in mid-February in 2018 but late January in 2017.

Firm global demand also brought benefits to the country’s exporters, although quickly escalating trade tensions with America are actually clouding the outlook for a repeat performance in 2018.

Pointing to further revenue pressure, the country’s steel futures prices have headed south to their lowest value eight months on worries of an all-out global trade conflict as well as fears as for declining demand at home because the heated property market demonstrates obvious signs of cooling.

Revenues at the country’s state-owned industrial companies tacked on 29.6% in January-February from 2017, speeding down from a 45.1% jump last year.